Representatives from several businesses and utility groups ceremoniously flipped the switch on Tuesday to celebrate the completion and activation of the Skyhawk Solar project, a 100 megawatt energy project in northwestern Tennessee that will power a pair of Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
Skyhawk Solar is located southeast of Union City, near the Everett-Stewart Regional Airport. Minnesota-based Excelsior Energy Capital owns the project and Florida-based company Origis Energy developed and constructed the arrays under an alliance with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Origis Services will be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the project.
Thomas Gamble is the facilities manager of Google’s Jackson County, Alabama, data center. He said, while there are still periods when the company has to rely on fossil fuels, the company is looking for areas that will allow it to grow and also help meet its goal of operating on 100% carbon-free energy by 2030.
“Google looks for areas like [Obion County], and companies that are focused on trying to develop and grow that carbon-free footprint to grow and build our operations as well,” Gamble said.
Under a power purchase agreement with Excelsior, Google is purchasing the renewable energy credits generated from Skyhawk Solar to add to its energy portfolio. That will benefit two Google data centers in the Southeast: one in nearby Clarksville, and the other in Jackson County, Alabama.
The project was announced in 2020 under TVA’s Green Invest Program, which allows companies in TVA’s region, like Google, to purchase renewable energy credits and invest in green energy resources.
Origis Energy Chief Commercial Officer Johan Vanhee said Obion County will also benefit economically from Skyhawk Solar over the project’s lifespan.
“Roughly here, we're talking about $20-plus million, until this very moment, in tax harvest,” Vanhee said. “Throughout the further life of the plant, it will be roughly a little over $30 million that we contribute to the local community in the form of taxes.”
Vanhee said the project is also a job creator. Around 300 people worked on the project at the peak of its construction, and as many as eight people will be employed full-time to help maintain the project’s operations.
